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Pregnancy is a teamwork. A couple may have been planning pregnancy for quite a long time, but have remained unsuccessful. The reasons may be genetic or lifestyle, age, and medical disorders.
Genetic or lifestyle disorders can be mended naturally – maybe by eating well, doing the right kind of exercise, and meditation, or sometimes by getting medical help. As for age, there is nothing much you can do about it. However, the medical problems may have to be dealt with medically.
In the case of medical reproductive assistance Intrauterine insemination (IUI), as well as Assisted reproductive technology can be used.
Besides these scientists like Patrick Steptoe, and Robert Edwards reported the first live birth with the help of IVF in July 1978 in England. As per research, with IVF treatment, 1.6% and 4.5% of live births have been taken in places like Europe, the United States and other countries.
What is IVF Treatment for Pregnancy?
In natural conception, the egg and sperm come together to be fertilised. An egg releases from the ovaries, in a menstrual cycle and then goes to the fallopian tubes. The sperms also penetrate through the vagina, cervix, and uterus, and finally to the fallopian tube, fertilising the eggs. The fertilised eggs gradually move toward the uterus and attach to the uterine lining.
In vitro fertilisation (IVF) on the other hand, is an assisted reproductive technology (ART). “In vitro” is derived from the Latin phrase “in glass.” So, while taking up the In vitro fertilisation (IVF) process, the eggs are taken off from a woman’s ovary and conjoined with the sperms outside the body, and form embryos. The fertilisation takes place under controlled conditions in a laboratory dish. The embryo then grows in the lab for several days and eventually gets attached to the uterus.
Why is the IVF Treatment Needed?
Most of the time infertility problems begin with ovulation problems. Irregular menstrual periods, or absence of menstrual periods don’t allow eggs to be fertilised. Irregular periods take place due to polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS). Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) is a hormonal imbalance – that can come in the way of normal ovulation.
Besides this, pelvic inflammatory disease, or surgery for an ectopic pregnancy can cause blocked fallopian tubes; and uterine problems or fibroids are some of the reasons behind fertility problems in women.
Additionally, being over or underweight, taking stress, having a poor diet as well as age can be some of the essential factors behind a woman’s ability to bear a baby.
So far as the age is concerned, 20% of women can have children after 35 years of age. Otherwise, age can be one of the biggest problems amongst one-third of couples. With age, a woman’s ovaries can release fewer eggs and unhealthy eggs.
But a woman alone can’t bear the brunt of the incapability to have children, a man is equally responsible for it. So, the healthcare practitioner may check sexual problems, low sperm count, and sperm movement in men.
What is the in Vitro Fertilization Process?
So, a couple trying for a baby willing to undergo an IVF treatment will take a few pre-IVF tests including a wide range of blood tests to see the hormonal fluctuations, check the ovarian reserve, and go through the overall reproductive health.
With this, semen evaluation is done in men – to check the shape, count, concentration, and motility of the sperm.
Once these tests are over, the IVF procedure takes two or more weeks to complete. All these steps together form the IVF cycle. These steps include:
Ovarian Stimulation
Normally, an ovary releases an egg during a menstrual cycle. However, in the treatment of vitro fertilisation, fertility drugs are given to increase the egg count. Such drugs include follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), human menopausal gonadotropin (hMG), or both. These drugs help the eggs to mature in the ovaries. Before the eggs are collected and fertilised in the lab, they must mature in the ovaries first. Once the eggs mature human chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG) and GnRH agonist drugs push the ovaries to produce the eggs. The eggs eventually need to be retrieved.
Egg Retrieval
It takes around 36 hours for ovarian stimulation and uses follicular aspiration to retrieve the eggs from the ovaries. During this time, a transvaginal ultrasound is carried out. The healthcare provider puts a needle through the vagina, into the ovaries, and removes the eggs from the follicle in this way. Egg retrieval takes 15 to 30 minutes.
Fertilisation
Once the eggs are removed the sperm from the donor or partner are brought together for fertilisation in a petri dish. As per research, 65% to 80% of the eggs are fertilised during the IVF treatment.
Embryo Culture and Transfer
Once the egg is fertilised, it divides and becomes an embryo. It takes around two to five days to monitor the embryo, and for it to grow. In the treatment of IVF, the physicians transfer the embryo fresh and perform the frozen embryo transfer in the water cycle.
To initiate pregnancy, when the fresh embryo transfer takes place, a progesterone hormone is prescribed to increase the thickness of the uterine lining.
Most often, only one embryo is transferred. Two or more transfers are less common. It is possible to have twins, triplets, or even more children when transferring two or more embryos, though it also increases the chances of having a pregnancy.
8 to 12 days after the embryo transfer, hCG levels get tested to confirm pregnancy.
Although an expensive procedure, the success rate of IVF is over 85% in self-cycle and 99% using donors in all the fertility centres across India.